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The amount of time that dogs have been intentionally bred is a mere BLIP on the history of canids. And dogs have only been fed commercial food for the last 50-100 years--prior to that (for a few hundred years back at most), most domestic dogs ate a combination of table scraps, raw meat, and killed prey. It takes MILLENIA to evolve and adapt to a different diet, and canids have not (fortunately!) been fed commercial food anywhere near that long.

More on this: http://rawfed.com/myths/cooked.html

As for activity level: Um, well, sure. But that just means that they should be fed LESS than a wolf eats, not that they need to be fed differently. Carbs make dogs fat--which is why we have all these fat, diabetic cats and dogs out there now--but meat doesn't do that to carnivores unless it's fed in huge quantities. My 60 pound dogs get 2 pounds a day and maintain trim figures and glowing good health on that.

I fed Sierra a "premium" kibble for most of her years, until she was a couple months past 8. Up until she was 3 years old her weight was manageable. She should of weighed over 70 pounds. However by the year she turned 8 she weighed 95 pounds. I fed her the same way, same food and while she did get less exercise, had I fed her less she would been "stealing" food.

In Jan 2011 I put her on raw. Not only did she smell awful, 2 things I believe explain that; first was her anal glands werent being cleaned due to in inadequate diet (her stool was too soft) and also having cancer (something we didnt find out till later that year). Not only did she have very strong gas, it also emanated from her pores, so she just always smelled nasty and rotten. Almost overnight the smell left as her stool became hard enough to evacuate the glands. I also believe taking her off of the grains slowed down her cancer and gave her several great months. She also lost about 20 ish pounds without me having to kill her with exercise, which was what I was trying to do before just changing her diet. Her coat also got shinier and softer and her breath was better, just from chewing on the raw bones.

She loved all food, most labs do. She loved fruits, veggies and potatoes, sweet and white. But that doesn't mean she should of been eating it exclusively.

Just because we domesticated the dog, doesn't mean their physiological requirements changed. Their digestive track is the same as the undomesticated wolf. After all, we domesticated the cat, and they're still obligate carnivores.

How do you handle giving your dogs raw meat? I even find the cooked meat disgusting, so I know going raw will really gag me...lol. I *am* open to trying the raw food diet to see how my "children" like it, though. If it will give them healthy lives, I'll "bite the bullet". My dogs are 12 and 10, so they're getting up there.

For me personally, cooking it is way more ick than just giving it to them.

When I did Sierra I just put the meat in her bowl and gave it to her. Really no different than kibble. But having to prep it, cook it, smell it cooking etc. is a lot of trouble. Plus dogs cant have the cooked bones anyway and they need those too.

Well, for me personally, raw meat disgusts me a lot more than cooked meat. I just remembered I did try the raw meat diet several years ago, and it was really disgusting to me. My dogs didn't like it either. Did Sierra take to the new diet immediately?

Trust me: dealing w/ raw meat was one of the hardest things I've ever done. I've been vegan for more than 20 years and veg a few before that, and it was HARD. But I got to the point where I simply KNEW it was the best thing for them and that if I wanted to live w/ carnivores I just had to deal with it.

It was very hard at first, but it got easier. I would never cook meat--it's smelly and fills the whole house w/ that odor. Raw meat has very little smell. I keep it frozen until the night before, then thaw overnight in the oven (turned off) in a tray and feed in the a.m. Whole prey is easiest--I just tong 1 mouse apiece into the cats' bowls in a.m. and 2 ea in p.m. and that's that. The dogs' stuff I do have to cut.

I "keep Kosher" by designating one side of my double sink for the critters and the other for me--all tools are kept separate as well and the dog/cat stuff is on one shelf only of the fridge, in a glass bowl (whatever I thawed that day that carries over to tomorrow for the dogs, who eat once a day, and the p.m. meals for the cats).

The first few weeks were the hardest--I actually had a total meltdown in the meat dept at Whole Foods and had to call a friend to get me through it, LOL. But it got easier. And for me there just wasn't a choice. I should not be imposing my own ethics and what is best for HUMANS on my carnivores. 4 years out I know I did the right thing!

Pretty much. I was worried about her choking, not chewing the bones enough etc, but she did great. I held it at first kind of forcing her to chew it rather than gulp which was her style when she was on kibble. She did great. I didnt really have to "teach" her at all. At the end, I took her off bones as she was too weak to chew them. I also bought grain free kibble, but she had no interest in kibble anymore, but still ate her raw food. When she refused all food, it was time.

I am probably going to start switching the puppy to raw at night for a while soon. Although no guarantees, I believe diet is what mostly caused Sierra's cancer. Her little body was full of it. She had a large mass on her pancreas and liver, tumors on her femors, and tumors in her lungs and probably in her intestines too. The grains and heat treated kibble among other things are really bad for the dogs.

Kibble is full of unnatural smells--it is intentionally made very smelly in order to ensure that dogs scarf it up. Dogs used to kibble may take a while to transition to raw b/c it has very little smell. Some help on transitioning here:

http://rawfed.com/myths/switch.html

It takes most dogs a few weeks--some jump right in and others take a little longer. Cats are a tougher sell initially b/c they are much more careful about what they eat and they, too, have been sucked in by "kitty crack" (dry food w/ smelly "digest" all over it). My youngest cat, Jonah, was rescued at 3 weeks of age and weaned directly to raw. He's never had cat food in his life. He's now a strapping, gorgeous, shining 3 year old.

Debbie--Please don't wait to switch. Your puppy is forming bones and muscles NOW. He'll be so much healthier throughout life if he starts OUT right (see above re: kitten Jonah weaned to raw).

I know. I'll go thaw some chicken. Yes I have chicken in my freezer. Its left over from my Sierra Bear days.

The times I fed my dog raw, I portioned it out and froze it, then put it in the fridge to defrost for a couple of days before her feeding. So yes, one gross day to portion it out and about 20 days of feeding after that.

I know it's going to be very hard on me too, but I've read that the raw food diet is really the best. It's just getting past the "yuck" factor, and my dogs are "up there" in years, so I don't know if they'll be open to it.

LOL! I can identify, ET. I sometimes have a meltdown when I cook their chicken. I try to put it out of my mind...sometimes I can, sometimes I can't.

Yeah, I know. I've read that they spray this stuff called "digest" over the kibble to make it more palatable for the dogs. "Digest" is disgusting stuff....rotgut.

I think I'll add the raw food slowly, along with their regular food, and hopefully, I can wean them off the cooked stuff.

Cowpie natural pet stores also carry premium freeze-dried meat so all you have to do is add water. It is organic grass fed high quality stuff, so if you can afford it, it's an easy way to go without dealing with the blood and guts.

Thanks, soliver. I was going to order it online, but it's very expensive. I'll have to google natural pet stores in the area. Freeze-dried would be good, because I live in hurricane country, and if all I had to do was add water, it would be very handy when the power goes out. Freeze-dried is shelf-stable, isn't it?